Evaluation of the consumer - directed care initiative - Final Report
10.6 Cost-assessment and cost-effectiveness
Table of contents
- Executive summary
- Glossary
1 Introduction
2 The consumer-directed care initiative- 3 Evaluation of the consumer-directed care initiative
- 4 Profile of participants and the supports they accessed
- 5 Implementation and operation of the initiative
- 6 Impact of the initiative for CDC participants and their carers
- 7 Impact of the initiative for CDRC participants and the people they care for
- 8 Impact on providers and the broader service system
- 9 Cost assessment and cost-effectiveness of the initiative
- 10 Key findings
- 10.1 Implementation and operation
- 10.2 Impact of CDC in participants and their carers
- 10.3 Impact of CDRC on participants and the people they cared for
- 10.4 Considerations for special needs groups
- 10.5 Impact of CDC/CDRC on provider 'culture' and the broader service system
- 10.6 Cost-assessment and cost-effectiveness
- 11 Lessons learnt and strategies for consideration
- Appendices
- References
Key finding: There were set-up costs and some ongoing costs that providers were funding themselves.
Providers were incurring costs relating to the development and set-up of CDC and CDRC, and meeting these costs themselves. For the first round of CDC and CDRC packages, these costs are estimated to have been $1 million for CDC and $0.2 million for CDRC, or approximately $2,000 per package. Some set-up costs will not be incurred again by existing providers if the initiative is expanded, though new providers will incur some costs. Further, there are likely to be additional costs incurred by providers for systems development as the number of packages reaches a critical mass and processes need to be automated. This investment will need to be funded by the Department.
Providers were also incurring some ongoing costs which were not being met from package funds. The extent to which these will continue is unclear, though may decline over time as providers become more familiar with the approach and participants take on a greater self-management role.
Key finding: The cost-effectiveness of the initiative is unclear.
Given the timing of the evaluation it was not possible to undertake a cost-effectiveness analysis. It is therefore not possible at this point in time to say whether consumer-directed care is more or less cost-effective than standard packaged care and respite. There are early indications that the benefits realised by CDRC participants and by CDCH and CDCHD participants are greater than for NRCP and standard packaged care, and that in terms of benefits-per-dollar invested, CDRC, CDCH and CDCHD could be relatively cost-effective. It is not as clear for CDCL.